The amount of locations this WHS has might seem first very overwhelming. Which ones to visit when you have only limited time in Kyoto? Especially when considering how much other stuff there is to see and do in Kyoto! I had 2 full days and a morning to explore Kyoto in November 2024 and I think I got good sample of what this WHS offers.

On the first full day in Kyoto I started my day in Arashiyama district and visited Tenryu-ji temple and the social media famous bamboo forest next to it. The temple is most famous for its garden (pictured) and it was my favourite of all the gardens I visited in Kyoto. As it was late November the autumn foliage was very pretty. I bought the ticket that only included visit to the garden, I didn't visit inside the temple itself and I don't think that would have added much to the visit. There were a lot of tourists at the temple, probably most lured there by the next door Arashiyama Bamboo Forest. From Arashiyama I took the small train to Ninna-ji temple. This was the calmest temple I visited in Kyoto, as it seems that all the tour groups skip it. You are first greeted by the massive and impressive gate when you arrive from the train station. The ticket includes visit to the Shinden, which was the residence of the head priest. Shinden was partly in renovation during my visit. Shinden has 2 beautiful garden areas and is definitely worth the visit. Otherwise the temple area has an impressive pagoda and different temple buildings scattered around but none of them were open for visit. From Ninna-ji it's a short bus ride to Ryoan-ji temple. This temple was again very touristy. The highlight is the stone zen garden but as there were so many people when I visited the zen was missing. My favourite part in the temple was actually the tea house and its beautiful dragon screens. Next I headed to Rokuon-ji temple. The bus stop at Ryoan-ji had a good queue of people waiting for the bus to Rokuon-ji and the bus was packed when we got on. Luckily the ride is very short. Rokuon-ji is famous for the Golden Pavilion and is more famously known as Kinkaku-ji. This was easily the busiest temple I visited on that day and I imagine the crowds weren't even that bad as I visited close to the closing time. The Golden Pavilion looked great with setting sun shining on it. Besides the pavilion I didn't find the temple area that interesting, I would rate the other temples I visited on the same day higher than this.

On the next day I visited Kiyomizu-dera temple. The street that leads up to the temple is jam packed with people but luckily not all of them will visit the temple (thanks to the entrance fee probably). The temple has great views over Kyoto and it was the highlight personally for me there. The terraces and temple buildings were very crowded and this was the busiest temple I visited in Kyoto over the 2 days. This temple also includes garden and park areas and they were calmer to walk around. From Kiyomizu-dera I headed to Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine for the rest of the day. The shrine isn't part of the WHS but very much worth the visit and to hike all the way up to the Inari mountain.

On my last morning in Kyoto I visited in Kyo-o-gokoku-ji temple, more famously know as To-ji temple. My hotel was next to this temple so I had been already looking at its famous pagoda for few days from my window. The pagoda is the highest wooden pagoda in Japan and it sure is impressive. The pagoda was open when I visited and a staff member was there showing how the pagoda is built to handle earthquakes. The 2 halls of the temple, Kondo and Miedo, are massive and have amazing statues of Buddhas and deities inside. This was also quite calm temple to visit. There was flea market going on at the temple grounds. The temple hosts a lightshow after dark during the autumn foliage.

All the temples I visited were magnificent and worth the visit. The collection of historical monuments in Kyoto is impressive and you need at least couple weeks if you want to explore everything the city has to offer (beyond the WHS also). I think this itinerary was very good for first visit in Kyoto, although on the first day I was reaching my limit of Buddhist temples for one day. The public transportation is excellent and it's easy to go between all the sites. The buses to and from Kinkaku-ji were packed but otherwise there were no issues. The overtourism is showing in the city which is unfortunate but as a tourist myself I can't be too annoyed by it. I can't wait to visit Kyoto again and explore all the other locations of this WHS.